Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP) Archive

2035 MTP

Planning for transportation in the Albuquerque Metropolitan Planning Area (AMPA) presents significant challenges for local policy makers. The 2035 Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP) is a first step at addressing present day concerns before they develop into future year crises.

Between now and 2035, our region will experience significant growth, even with the recent slowdown in the pace of development. Analysts at the Mid-Region Metropolitan Planning Organization (MRMPO) forecast that by 2035 the AMPA will grow by the equivalent of an additional Bernalillo County in population. As a result, the occasional congestion we see today will likely become much more frequent and severe. The increase in travel and congestion will contribute to lost productivity, diminished air quality, and decreased health and safety.

In order to tackle these issues the MTP has set forth goals to enhance quality of life, ensure the mobility of people and goods, and support economic activity and growth. Achieving these goals will require a balanced and diversified approach to solving the region's transportation challenges.

The 2035 MTP addresses future growth in several new ways. For example, a comprehensive transit system, including Bus Rapid Transit, would connect areas of population to major activity centers. Albuquerque's Rapid Ride and the New Mexico Rail Runner have shown that people will use transit if it is fast and convenient. The 2035 MTP also recommends improvements to the bicycle and pedestrian networks, preservation and optimization of the use of existing infrastructure, and presents a process for selecting the most beneficial projects for the region as a whole as well as monitoring progress made toward goals.

The MTP also addresses how the land use choices we make affect the transportation network. Communities with convenient access to transit facilities and commercial services can provide new residents the option of walking, biking, or using to transit for work and shopping trips. The Metropolitan Transportation Board (comprised of locally elected officials and our partners at the New Mexico Department of Transportation) have assigned targets to increase transit's share of Albuquerque's peak hour river crossings to 10 percent in 2020 and 20 percent in 2035. With these targets comes a pledge of 25 percent of the region's Surface Transportation Program and Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality funds from 2016 forward directed to transit projects.

Plan Approval

The Metropolitan Transportation Board approved the 2035 MTP on April 15, 2011 (Resolution R'-11'-05 MTB). The Federal Highway Administration and the Federal Transit Administration approved the MTP and determined it is in conformity with Clean Air Act requirements on June 27, 2011.

In January 2010, MRMPO conducted an online survey of perceptions of the transportation system. With the cooperation of local media, the higher education community, New Mexico Rail Runner, and many others, over 3,600 responses to the survey were received. The results of the 2010 transportation survey (PDF) serve as a foundation for the 2035 Metropolitan Transportation Plan.

Dave Pennella

ABOUT MRCOG

The Mid-Region Council of Governments serves the counties of Bernalillo, Sandoval, Torrance and Valencia in the areas of transportation, planning, water, economic development, workforce, land use, and agriculture.